Valery Malone Bites
by MrBillyD
Summary: Bad Girl Valery is killed by Spike.  She returns as a vampire, and is then suspected, in the vampire killing of Kelly Taylor.
1. Chapter 1

Valery Malone Bites

Here is a Beverly Hills 90210/Angel crossover story.

Spike the vampire, kills "Bad Girl" Valerie, turning her into a vampire. She is then suspected in the vampire murder of Kelly Taylor.

I do not own any of the characters in this story. They belong to the Producers of the Shows "Beverly Hills 90210" and "Angel".

Valery Malone Bites

By MrBillyD

1

My name is Valerie Malone. According to the Beverly Beat, a local newsletter, I'm "The 24 year old, dark haired, sexy part owner, of the Beverly Hills nightclub; 'Peachpit AfterDark.'"

We serve drinks, and we have live entertainment on the weekends. On weeknights, David Silver is in the D/J booth.

Around 9 P.M. on a Tuesday night, business was slow. Less than half the tables were occupied. The recorded music blared, but not loud enough to drown out any conversation.

I was seated at the bar, going over some paperwork, when a guy sat on the stool beside me.

"Evenin' Valerie luv." He spoke with an English Cockney accent. "Can I buy you somethin' to drink?"

He was Spike; a mean looking dude in a black leather jacket. He had a firm build and curly, white hair: A retro, punk rocker, Sid Vicious wannabe look. He'd been showing up almost every night, for the past two weeks, with a ditzy blonde chic named Harmony. She also had a mean look to her, but neither of them had caused any trouble. Tonight he was alone.

"Thank you Spike." I told him, "Maybe you haven't heard, but I'm part owner of the Club. I'm the one who buys drinks for customers. Not the other way around."

"Then I'll have my usual."

I said, "That was slick, but you're the one, who has to pay for the drinks first."

Then I asked, "So where's your girlfriend, what's her name? Harmony?"

"She's on ice."

"'On ice'?" I said scornfully, "You mean you haven't broken up with her, but you're now on the prowl?"

"That's partly correct."

"What part?"

"When I said 'She's on ice', I meant that literally. Right now she's hanging upside down and naked, inside a freezer, with the lights off."

I laughed. "If that's what dating you leads to, forget it. I don't mind a little bit kinky, but risking death..."

"That wasn't a joke luv."

"Yeah. Right."

"You see, our employer doesn't take any lip, from any of their employees."

"Don't you think that's kind of excessive? Every now and then, I have to give somebody a good talking to, and that's enough."

"We are employed by the law firm Wolfram and Hart. Our employer enforces Company rules, in a way that we employees never forget."

I said, "Law firm? You don't look like a lawyer to me; and Harmony just doesn't seem like someone, who could pass any kind of a bar exam."

"Harm and I aren't lawyers." He told me, "She and I enforce company policy, in a way that our clients never forget."

I said, "Enforcers?"

He said, "Wolfram and Hart wants me to explain Company policy to you Ms. Malone, in a way you'll never forget."

I looked at Spike's face. That night he looked more than mean. He looked dangerous.

I told him, "You get out of here right now, or I'll call the police."

"Go ahead." He told me, "I'm sure they'll be interested to learn about the time, when you pretended to be pregnant by a married man, who you had a fling with. You then got him to pay for a fake abortion, along with hush money.

"The law calls that fraud and blackmail, for which you can do an unhealthy amount of jail time."

I told him, "You can't prove that."

"Wolfram and Hart can, along with providing evidence of your involvement in a murder."

"Murder?"

"Maybe more than one."

"What's this all about?"

"We know for a fact, that you allow gambling and drug dealing inside this club, with you getting a percentage of every transaction."

"Oh I see." I said, "And your employer wants a percentage too."

"Meet me outside, in the parking lot, in 15 minutes," he said, "and be sure you come alone."

15 minutes later I was out in the parking lot, with a loaded pistol in my handbag. Spike stood beside a car, at the dark end of the parking lot, furthest from the street. I came over to him.

He opened the front door on the passenger side, and told me, "Get in."

"Forget it Mr. Tough Guy. I'm not getting in a car with you."

"All right cautious lady." He shut the door. "Stand there."

"Good enough." I told him. "Now tell me what's the deal."

"You're a very bad girl Valerie." He said, "I come from Sunnydale, which is full of very bad girls."

"Sunnydale? Vampire Town?"

"And do you know what happens to very bad girls in Sunnydale?"

"I've heard that they get killed and eaten by vampires."

He said, "Exactly."

Suddenly his arms were around me. He pulled me up against himself, and put his mouth against my neck. He had a pair of sharp, heavy fangs, which he stabbed inside my neck.

Then my mind vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

2

I opened my eyes. I was stretched out lengthwise, across the backseat of a moving car. My dress was a wrinkled mess; its skirt was pushed up around my hips, and my legs were spread wide. It was still dark outside the windows.

I began to groan. I was in pain, from the top of my head, to the tips of my toes, and everything in between. I had the hangover from Hell; and I mean that literally.

I heard a woman speak, from the front passenger seat. "She's awake Spike."

I mumbled, "Repent you sinners."

I slipped off the back seat, onto the floor, and grunted loudly. Then I put my hand on the seat, and began to pull myself up. I was feeling great pain. I also felt very groggy and nauseous, like I was about to throw up.

I said, "Stop the car! I'm about to puke!"

The car pulled to the side and stopped. I fell back. My head rested against the left rear door. The door opened. I turned myself over, poked my head outside, and everything in my stomach came barfing out.

Then the door shut and we were moving again. I got up to a sitting position in the back seat. I smoothed out my dress so my skirt covered my legs, to its full length. Spike was driving. Harmony sat beside him. I was still groggy, and in pain. Now I also felt hungry.

I muttered. "I'm hungry. I want to kill somebody. Drink his blood."

Harmony turned around. She said, "I know how you feel Val; but we can't allow that."

She handed me an open thermos and said, "Here's some of the good stuff. Have some of your own back."

"Some of my own?" I put the mouth of the thermos under my nose, and smelled the warmed up liquid inside. "My own blood?"

"That's right." She told me. "We can't have a brand new vampire going off the deep end, and biting the first live person she sees. Once we get to where we're going, there'll be enough pigs blood to fill you up. Then you'll be able to control your bloodlust."

I poured the contents out of the thermos, into its lid-cup, and gulped it all down. I drank down several cups of my own blood. Then I no longer felt hungry, or groggy. My mind cleared.

I repeated, "Once we get to where we're going? Where are we going?"

Now Spike spoke. "Wolfram and Hart's Headquarters love. That's where everything'll be explained to you."

I looked out the window. We were driving through the dark, almost deserted streets of downtown L.A. I checked my wristwatch. It was 2:37 AM.

I looked myself over. My maroon colored dress was wrinkled from top to bottom, and the skirt had a large dark stain down the front.  
"Spike!" I asked, "Did you rape me?"

He said nothing. He and Harmony faced straight ahead.

I repeated, "Did you?"

He didn't turn his head. "You can't rape a dead woman."

My voice was hoarse. "What'd you fuck a corpse?"

Harmony called out, "Hey Val! Watch your mouth!"

"Well what did he do, after he killed me?"

He said, "I'm not a rapist Val. I'm a seducer."

"Yeah-right!" I spoke with scorn. "You're a real Mr. Charm, aren't you?"

We arrived at Wolfram and Hart Headquarters. Spike parked in the Company's basement garage. Then he, Harmony and I took the elevator up to the 38th floor.

Inside the elevator, there was a full length mirror to the right. I looked at it, and saw my dress all wrinkled. Its skirt was stained with blood and semen. My hair was also a mess.

"Spike." I said, "Whether you call it raped or seduced, I look like I've been ravished."

He said nothing. Neither did Harmony. I didn't see either of their reflections in the mirror.

When we reached the 38th floor, Harmony escorted me to a ladies room, where I cleaned myself up, as best I could. I fixed my hair as neat as I could. Then Harmony went outside, and came back in a few minutes, with a clean yellow dress that was just about my size. My overall appearance was barely presentable.

I said, "I can see my reflection in the mirror, but I can't see yours, and I couldn't see Spike's."

"That's how it is with us vampires." she said. "No one's ever been able to figure out why."

Then we went back out into the corridor, where Spike was waiting. He and Harmony escorted me to a small office.

Inside the office, a guy in a suit, in his late twenties, sat behind a desk, with his back to a window, overlooking the lights of the City. He was alive, with blood flowing through his veins.

If Harmony hadn't given me that blood to drink, it would have been impossible for me not to bite him, and suck out his blood, 'til he died. Now I had my bloodlust under control, but I just couldn't help looking hungrily at his very appetizing neck, and licking the tips of my brand new fangs.

"How do you do Miss Malone." He said, "My name is Lindsey McDonald. I see that you are now a vampire."

"Yeah!" I snapped, "Thanks to Spike! He killed me, and I went straight to Hell! Then he, or maybe Harmony, had some kind of kinky sex with my corpse."

"Me?" Harmony laughed. "What do think, I'm some kind of lesbo necrophile? Even if I was, how could I have spurted semen, all over you?"

Lindsay McDonald asked, "You went to Hell?"

"That's right." I told him, "I was killed by a vampire, and I went straight to Hell. I've been a very bad girl, who's done very bad things; and we very bad girls who do very bad things, really do go to Hell. We go directly to Hell. We do not pass 'Go'. We do not collect $200; so repent you sinners."

Mr. McDonald chuckled. Then he said, "Repentance is not encouraged at Wolfram and Hart Miss Malone."

"That's obvious." I said, "It's also obvious that I was more than just Spike's evening meal and kinky toy. If that's all I was, I wouldn't be here. I might not even be undead. Now what the hell do you people want?"

"We want your cooperation Miss Malone. We know all about the unlawful goings on at your place of business. It's very profitable, but very risky. Wolfram and Hart would like to eliminate the risk."

"I see." I said, "You want us pay you to protect our patrons and employees from people like Spike; so what happened to me won't happen to any of them."

"Exactly, and don't forget the Police. You don't want trouble with them either do you?"

"Okay Mr. Mcdonald." I said, "Let's get to the point. How much do you want?"

Harmony laughed, "How much do you got?"

I said, "Fuck that!"

"Relax Miss Malone." The man behind the desk said, "Harmony's joking. I'm sure that something reasonable can be worked out between you and Wolfram and Hart."

"Oh I'm ready to be reasonable," I told him "but I'm not the only one you'll have to deal with. I have a partner. Dylan McKay.

Lindsey McDonald said, "Dylan McKay? Son of the late Jack McKay, and heir to who knows how many secret overseas bank accounts?"

"That's him." I told them, "And a much bigger payoff, than you'd ever get out of my share from the After Dark."

Harmony asked, "How big?"

"Big enough," I told them, "for each of us to live comfortably, for as long as we remain undead."


	3. Chapter 3

3

Three nights later, I entered the AfterDark, about a half-hour after sunset, carrying a six pack of bottled pigs' blood, in a brown paper shopping bag. There were only a handful of customers, all seated at the bar.

David Silver was setting things up in the D/J booth. He looked at me angrily. I figured that was because I'd been away for three days, and been unable to send any messages to anybody. I waved at him. He shook his head, and returned to work.

At that hour, only one waitress was on duty. She looked at me uneasily, and greeted me without smiling. "Good evening Miss Malone."

I figured she was angry with me too, for the same reason as David.

"Hi Yolanda." I said, thinking that the sexy Mexican Girl's neck, was very appetizing, and I'd have just loved, to try out my new fangs on her; but I had no trouble restraining myself.

I've got my bloodlust under control, I thought. Nobody I know has to find out I'm a vampire.

I went into my office in the back, and shut the door. I put the pint bottles of blood in a knee-high fridge that I keep in one corner. Then I locked the fridge. Harmony had got the six pack for me. She said it was pigs' blood. I decided to take her word on that. She also said that if I warmed up one pint a week, in my office's microwave, I could survive on that. I hoped so.

On the other hand, Yolanda did have a very appetizing neck. Come to think of it, so did David, and Donna, and Dylan, and Steve and Claire, and Brandon, and Miss Kelly Taylor.

I sat behind my desk and thought, Kelly Taylor? Hmmm? Ahhh!

No! Forget it! I'd just spent the last three days, learning how to handle the urge to kill people and drink their blood. I'd also learned when and where to go hunting. Harmony had told me of certain places in Mexico, where vampires can go, to safely satisfy their bloodlust; so while Yolanda's neck would be safe from my fangs, I'd still have a good number of necks in Mexico to choose from.

What I didn't have was any idea, of how to get Dylan McKay to pay protection money to Wolfram and Hart.

I also had no idea of where Dylan McKay was. The last time that any of us had heard about him was six months earlier. Brandon Walsh had received a letter from his sister Brenda. She'd said that Dylan, the true love of her life, was with her in London. He'd stayed with her about two months. After that none of us had heard anything from or about him.

I'd told Harmony about him. She and I had been seated in the Wolfram and Hart Cafeteria, having a lunch of warmed up blood, in porcelain mugs. She'd said we were drinking "The good stuff."

That was when I'd told her, "Dylan's spent an average of two months with every girlfriend he's ever had. Before he was with Brenda, he spent two months with her best friend, a bitch named Kelly Taylor. Kelly's other true love, is Brenda's twin brother Brandon."

Harmony laughed and shook her head. "I don't believe it. Haven't any of you ever heard of 'Stand by your man'?"

I told her, "That's how it usually is, among me and my friends in Beverly Hills. It's hard to keep track of who's fucking who. Kelly Taylor, David Silver, Steve Sanders, and Brandon Walsh, all seem to have an endless number of partners; who they ditch after two months or so. Like it's some kind of game.

Harmony the vampire said, "That's a very cruel game. When I kill someone I'm quick, so my victims don't suffer for long. Don't you have any friends, who aren't crueler than me?"

"Oh yes. Donna Martin is a very nice girl. She doesn't want to play games; but she's always ending up with those same kind of Beverly Hills type guys, who aren't capable of any long lasting relationship.

"You know what I'm thinking Harmony? I'm thinking that if I ever do become a practicing vampire, I can benefit the entire community, by killing them off. If I did, Donna's the only one I wouldn't bite. No. She's the one who I'd kill first, and then bring back as a "very nice girl" vampire. Then she and I can take turns at killing Kelly, David, Steve, Brandon, and Dylan; and not bring any of them back. All of L.A. would be better off."

Harmony said, "Forget that! Here in L.A. a novice like you shouldn't bite anyone, until you know who the people you should watch out for are."

I'd said, "Then tell me who they are."

She'd said, "The police obviously. There are also some street gangs that hunt vampires, and mostly there's Angel Investigations."

She'd told me that, while I was still a Wolfram and Hart Headquarters.

Now back at the AfterDark, there was a knock on my office door.

I called out, "Come on in!"

David Silver entered the office. He looked angry, and he was also very distressed.

He spoke sharply. "Where the hell've you been Val?"

I said, "Nice to see you too David."

He shouted, "Where were you?"

I told him, "I became a vampire on Tuesday night; and I've just spent the last three days, learning to control my bloodlust; so I won't kill you, for talking to me like that!"

"Why are you joking about it Val? That's really sick!"

I asked, "What's the matter?"

"Oh. You haven't heard?"

"Heard what?"

"It's Kelly. She's dead."

"Kelly?"

"They found her body this morning. In the backseat of her car, right outside in the parking lot. My stepsister Kelly Taylor, was killed last night, by a vampire."

Talk about mixed emotions.

I made sure that my fangs were very firmly retracted.

Then I said, "Oh David! That's awful! A vampire? I apologize for the joke. I swear I didn't know."

"The police said they found a pair of deep bite marks in her neck, and she was drained of blood. They want to talk to you Val."

"Me? Why? If it's a vampire..."

"Just routine questioning. Just in case you've seen anyone around here who's been acting suspicious. They told me that known vampires have been seen hanging out here. You know that English guy Spike, and his girlfriend Harmony?"

I said, "They're vampires?"

Then I asked, "How do they know that? Who identified them?"

"An employee of a private security agency. Angel Investigations. One of their people was here today. A black guy named Charles Gunn. He said they know how to deal with vampires. He also said that in case we'd like their help, you should contact them. He left their card."

David reached in his shirt pocket, took out a business card and handed it to me. The card had a picture of a poorly drawn angel, beside the name Angel Investigations; along with their address and phone number.

I said, "'In case we need help'? Now he tells us? They knew that vampires were in here, but they didn't say anything, 'til after Kelly was dead? If they want us to hire them forget it. I'm sure I can get help from another Agency that's actually competent."

I picked up a telephone book on my desk, and leafed through it until I came to Security Agencies. There must have been hundreds listed.

I slapped the book shut.

I said, "I don't know what I'm looking for David."

He told me, "Charles Gunn asked me to call, as soon as you came in. Like it or not, someone from Angel Investigations is on his way here right now, so he can talk to you."


	4. Chapter 4

4

David went out the door, leaving me seated alone at my office desk. He came back immediately.

"Spike and Harmony are here." he said. "Do you want to call the police?"

I told him, "No. Let me see if I can talk to them first. I don't want police cars outside two nights in a row. It'll be bad for business."

I got up from behind my desk, walked past David, went through the doorway and out into the Club.

It was still early. The customers were few. Yolanda stood beside the bar, speaking softly in Spanish, to Jorge the bartender. They were nervously watching Spike and Harmony, who were seated in a booth. They both had martinis in front of them.

I came over to the booth.

I spoke softly. "You two shouldn't be here."

Spike said, "Good evening to you too Valerie."

"Listen." I told them, "Do you remember, I told you about Kelly Taylor?"

Harmony said, "Yeah. 'The big blonde bitch'."

I made a hushing sound.

"Don't say that." I told Harmony. "She was killed last night. Right outside in the parking lot. By a vampire."

Harmony smiled. She whispered. "Well hooray for you girl. Your very first kill."

"No. Don't say that. Someone from Angel Investigations identified both of you to the police. They could be on their way here right now."

Spike said, "Someone from Angel Investigations is here ahead of them."

He looked toward the bar and said, "Cordelia."

Harmony also said, "Cordelia." in unison with him.

A black haired woman around my age was seated at the bar, dressed in a stylish white business outfit. She had a matching handbag set down beside her glass of red wine. She'd been in the Club a few times before, escorted by an English guy named Wesley. Unlike Spike, Wesley spoke with an upper class English accent. Tonight she was alone.

When Spike and Harmony spoke the name; the woman turned and looked in our direction. Then she got up off the stool and came over to us. As she approached us, she reached inside her zipped open handbag, and kept her hand there.

Spike and Harmony both got tense. I hoped they wouldn't display their fangs.

The woman came up to the table.

Harmony said, "Hi Cordy. How're things going with you and Angel?"

She said, "Good evening Harm, Spike, and hello...I don't know your name."

"I'm Valerie Malone." I told her, "I'm the manager here, and I don't want any trouble."

"Nobody ever does," said Cordelia, "but you had plenty last night. A Miss Kelly Taylor was killed by a vampire, who was probably one of you three."

"Us three?" I said, "I'm not a vampire."

"I come from Sunnydale Miss Malone, just like Harmony; who was a friend of mine when she was alive. I am also a friend of Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer herself. When I attended Sunnydale High..."

Harmony said, "She was the skankiest ho in the entire Senior Class."

"As I was saying," Cordelia went on, "I was part of the Slayer's inner circle; so I know a vampire when I see one."

Spike said, "Well you're not seeing the killer of Kelly Taylor standing here. All of us've only been drinking pig's blood."

Harmony said, "That's all I've had. How about you Val?"

I looked Cordelia straight in the eye and said, "I didn't kill Kelly Taylor."

She asked me, "Did you vamp her?"

"I said I didn't!"

"If she was vamped," Cordelia said, "then when she comes back undead, she'll be able to tell us who her killer was."

I told her, "I said I don't want trouble Cordelia. Now I'm asking you to leave."

"Very well Miss Malone. I'll be leaving now; but like the Governor of our great State said, 'Ahl be bahk', and I won't be alone."

I told her, "Neither will I. Hasta la vista, behbeh."

"And by the way Harmony." The woman told her, "I was never the 'skankiest' ho," she smirked, "but I was the best."

Cordelia turned around and went out the door.

Harmony said, "I don't know how she does it. Cordy's been working for Angel the vampire, for the last two years, and she's still alive? If I had a hunk like him for a boss, and with her looks, my life expectancy would have been one week at the most."

Now Spike said, "Did you vamp her Valerie? Will she be able to I.D you?"

"No." I repeated, "I didn't kill Kelly Taylor."

He asked, "Do you have any idea who did?"

"Wasn't it one of you?"

Harmony asked, "Why would we? I know you couldn't stand her, but what motive would we have?"

I said, "I told you that Kelly Taylor was the second great love of Dylan McKay's life. By killing her, you've made certain, that he'll return to Beverly Hills."

"Good idea." She said, "I wish I'd thought of that. You're gonna make one really good vampire Val."

The door opened, and Steve Sanders entered. Tonight he looked grim. He came over to me.

"Hi Valerie." He said, "It really sucks about Kelly, doesn't it?"

I heard Harmony snicker.

"Hi Steve." I said, "Don't say 'suck'. David might think it's a vampire joke, and he's in an irrational rage."

Steve said, "Who isn't?"

I asked, "Has anyone heard from Dylan?"

"Yeah. Brandon got an E-mail from Brenda this morning. She said that she and Dylan would be taking the next flight. We'll probably see them both in the morning."

I said, "So they're together again?"

"I don't know. All I know is what I told you. That's what Brandon told me."

Steve went over to the Bar, where he joined David, who was speaking with Jorge and Yolanda. They all turned and looked at me, Spike and Harmony.

Spike said, "Val's right Harmony. Time for us to split."

My two new vampire friends got up and went out the door fast.

David and Steve hurried over to me.

David said, "What'd you do? You let them go?"

I said, "What do you mean, 'Let them go'? What was I supposed to do? Arrest them? I'm not a cop. I told them I don't want any more trouble here. They said they didn't either; and now there won't be."


	5. Chapter 5

5

About a half-hour later, I was back in my office, catching up on some paperwork at my desk, when there was another knock on my door.

I called out, "Come in!"

A guy entered my office. He was in his forties. He wore a rumpled, unbuttoned, light brown raincoat, and smoked a cigar. He seemed to be cross-eyed, and he walked stooped forward.

"Good evening Miss Malone." He said, "My name's Lieutenant Columbo. I'm with the Police."

I said, "Good evening Lieutenant."

"I have to ask you a few questions, about the unfortunate vampire killing, of a Miss Kelly Taylor that took place outside of here last night."

I said, "Please be seated Lieutenant."

He sat beside the desk, in a chair to my left, and put the cigar in an ashtray. Then he took out a writing pad and a pen.

I told him, "I'm sorry I can't help you Lieutenant, but I wasn't here last night. I was away for three days, and I didn't return until about an hour ago. That was the first time I heard about Kelly."

He started scribbling notes in the pad.

He said, "Now that's what I have to clear up Miss Malone. Excuse me, but where were you, and what were you doing, these past three days?"

I looked straight at him and said, "I was in Mexico Lieutenant. I was with a guy, having a fling."

He scribbled again.

"A fling in Mexico?"

"That's right. We were in Puerto Vallarta. We stayed at the Hotel Playa Los Arcos. We did not sign our real names."

He scribbled something every time I spoke.

"What was his real name?"

"He didn't say. He said I should call him Spike."

"Spike? Excuse me Miss Malone, but a vampire named Spike is suspected in the killing of Miss Taylor."

"We'll he obviously couldn't have been the one I was with, could he?"

The Lieutenant said, "The one we're interested in, was in here before, and you were seen talking to him."

"He's the one who was with me in Mexico. I had sexual relations with him; and from what I've heard, when a male vampire becomes sexually aroused, his fangs become extended along with his..."

"That's' what I've heard too."

"So if he'd been a vampire, I wouldn't have got up from that bed alive;" I chuckled, "but what a way to go."

He said, "This is all very interesting Miss Malone; but do you have any idea where I can contact this Spike, so I can verify your story?"

"Yes Lieutenant. He said he works at Wolfram and Hart Corporation Headquarters."

"Wolfram and Hart? Very well Miss Malone. Thank you for your help."

He put the writing pad and pen back in his pocket.

"Always glad to help L.A.'s finest."

Lieutenant Columbo picked up his cigar from the ashtray. He stood up, and headed to the door. Then he halted, and turned around.

"Oh by the way Miss Malone. Just one more thing, before I forget. You said that when you checked into this Hotel Playa Los Arcos, you didn't use your real names. What names did you use?"

"I said my name was Kelly Taylor. He gave his name as Dylan McKay. That was supposed to be a harmless joke. Ironic isn't it?"

"Yes." the detective nodded. "Tragically ironic."

Then he was gone.

Around midnight, the Club was as crowded as you'd expect, on a Friday night. David was in the D/J Booth, playing the usual music. He'd hardly said a word over the P.A. Donna was beside him. She was the one trying to cheer everybody up, doing most of the spiel that night herself. Steve and Brandon were at a table. Neither of them had much to say either.

I didn't know if any undercover cops were in the Club that night; but the bookies and the dealers had enough sense not show up.

David, Donna, Steve and Brandon had each asked me where I'd been the last three days. I told them the same thing I'd told the Lieutenant. "I was in Puerto Vallarta Mexico, getting laid. Just a fling. Getting my rocks off."

They didn't ask me anything further.

I was seated alone at a cocktail table, when I saw Dylan approaching me through the crowd. Brenda was with him. The two of them came up to me. I stood up.

"Oh Dylan!" I sobbed, "Brenda! This is so awful!"

I hugged Dylan, making sobbing sounds. Then I felt my fangs becoming extended. I let go of him quick, retracting my fangs, before anyone in the dimly lit Club noticed.

Now Brandon and Steve were beside us. They greeted the other two.

Brandon said, "I didn't think you'd get here this soon."

Dylan said, "What do you mean 'this soon'? We've been driving ever since Brenda told me about your e-mail."

"Driving?" Steve said, "From London?"

"No Steve." Brenda spoke with annoyance. "We weren't still in London. We were in Mexico. Puerto Vallarta."

Brandon and Steve both looked at me.

I said, "You were there too? So was I. What Hotel did you stay at?"

She said, "Hotel Playa Los Arcos."

I said, "I was at the Garza Blanca." That's about five miles south of the Playa Los Arcos. "I was with a guy."

Brandon told me, "You don't have to say more Val."

We spent the next hour or so catching up; engaging in small talk. David and Donna joined us. Everyone was reluctant to say anything about Kelly.

David informed Dylan and Brenda, "Our parents are taking care of the funeral arrangements."

We said no more about it that night.

Around 1:30 everyone decided that it was time to go. I was wide-awake. I told them I had to stay 'til closing.

Brandon said, "Then we'll see you at home, Val."

Then I spoke, "Before you go Dylan, there are some things about the business that I have to discuss with you. There are some people, who we'll have to meet with here, tomorrow night."

He said, "Can't you postpone it 'til after the funeral Valerie?"

"I can, but I don't know if you'll still be around."

He shrugged in his usual condescending way.

I spoke sharply. "You are my business partner Dylan! Whether you like it or not, Mr. Spoiled Rich Guy, you do have to occasionally show some interest!"

Dylan suddenly looked startled; so did Brenda, as did everyone else around the table. They were all staring at me, looking very distressed.

I said, "What's the matter?"

"Valerie." Steve told me, "You've got fangs. You're a vampire."

I said, "I'm not the one who killed Kelly! Wait for her to become undead. Then she'll tell you who really killed her, and that it wasn't me."

The others all stood up and backed away from the table.

I stood up and shouted, "I didn't kill Kelly!"

I rushed away from the table, made my way through the crowd, went into my office, and locked the door behind me.

I can't stay in here, I thought. My friends might be calling the police right now. I might be in a jail cell when the sun rises in a few hours. If the sunlight shines into my cell, I'll burn up into cinders, and go back to Hell. This time I'll be there to stay!

Or my friends might not wait for Kelly to revive. They might arrange for some Slayer to ram a stake through my heart, just to keep me from killing anybody.

I picked up my handbag, grabbed my jacket out of the closet, unlocked my office door, and stepped back out into the Club. Out on the floor, things were just as raucous as ever. My friends were still standing beside the table. They saw me, and I ran out the front door.

I heard Brandon call out, "Valerie! Come back! We have to talk!"

I rushed across the parking lot, got into my car and drove off.

"Talk"? Yeah-right. If you define the word talk, as ramming a sharp wooden stake through my heart.

I have to get home and pack, I thought, and be on the road out of L.A. before dawn gives me the rosy finger.

Get home? I wondered. I've been living at the Walsh house. Now that I'm a vampire, is it still my home? "The one place, where they have to let you in, no matter what"?

If I can no longer just walk in, I'd have to wait for Brandon or Brenda to show up and invite me in.

I thought, I have no place to go!

On the other hand, Brandon had said, "...see you at home, Val." That was an invitation, wasn't it?

What if they show up, while I'm still packing? What if the Police show up? What if Kelly doesn't revive?

Forget the "What ifs". I'll just have to pack my bags and be gone quick. What if I'm not quick enough? No! Forget the what ifs.

As I neared the Walsh house, a police car drove past me, with its lights flashing.

Forget about packing my bags.

I made a turn at the next corner, and headed for the nearest freeway.

I have to find a place where I can be safely indoors, before the sun rises, and stay there until sunset. Any cheap motel will do. They take cash. No questions asked, but would any of them have vacancies? At 1:45 on a Saturday morning? Forget about L.A. I should leave the City now. Leave for where? Where can I be indoors, before the sun rises in five hours?

In five hours, my picture's gonna be shown on every morning news broadcast in southern California. If there's a reward, what desk clerk at any motel, wouldn't be more than glad to cooperate with the Police?

A motel clerk in Sunnydale?

Right! I am a vampire on the run, and what better place to find refuge, than Vampire Town itself; and it's only a two hour drive from L.A. My stay there won't have to be permanent. Once Kelly becomes undead, she'll identify her real killer. Then, as long as I haven't killed anyone, I can work things out with everybody back in L.A.

And I won't have any reason to kill anyone, as long as I have those...

I forgot to take the six pack of pigs' blood, out of the fridge in my office in the AfterDark.

I do not own the character Inspector Columbo, who is owned by the producers of the TV Series "Columbo".

MrBillyD


	6. Chapter 6

6

Don't' panic. I thought, Just keep driving.

I kept driving. I got on the freeway, and was out of the City and on my way to Sunnydale, faster than I ever imagined. The best time to go anywhere on any freeway is at 2 in the morning. There's very little traffic then.

I reached the outskirts of Sunnydale, around 4 in the morning. I had another two and a half-hours to get safely inside, before sunrise. I drove along the two-lane highway, past the Sunnydale Motor Lodge. Its bright yellow "We Have Vacancies" sign was lit. I would have checked in then, but I was hungry, and I had to have some bottled blood to drink first. I drove on further.

I passed the Doublemeat Place, which was closed and dark, and drove on into Sunnydale itself. All the establishments along Main Street were closed and dark. I saw no pedestrians.

Harmony had given me a copy of the Vampire's Handbook, which had a long list of establishments, which cater to the undead. There were many in Sunnydale. Following the Handbook's instructions, I came to the intersection of Main Street and Whedon Street, turned right and drove on two blocks, until I came to a small flashing red neon sign saying "Willy's Place." I parked, and went inside.

Willy's place was a dive. A few thuggish looking characters were seated on the barstools. When I stepped inside, they all gave me an appraising look. I wondered if they were going to pounce. Then I displayed my fangs, and they lost all interest. I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or offended.

I sat on one of the barstools, putting two empty seats between me and the closest customer to my right.

The guy behind the bar wore a nametag identifying him as "Willy".

He asked, "What're you having Miss?"

"You do serve blood, don't you?"

He asked, "Pig or human?"

"I'm new at being a vampire." I told him. "I don't want to have anything to do, with anybody's killing; so I'll have pigs blood."

"Right away Miss."

He gave me a large mug of warmed up blood.

The fellow two seats to my right said, "What do you mean you don't want to kill anybody? Sure you do. You're a vampire."

I told him, "I'm a vampire who owns a nightclub in L.A., and I want to avoid losing it all."

"Good enough."

Willy asked, "What nightclub is that?"

"The AfterDark. It's in Beverly Hills. We have live entertainment on the weekends."

"Yeah. I've heard of it." He chuckled, "But the Beverly Hills nightclub scene is way beyond my means. For entertainment here, that's it."

He pointed to a TV up on a shelf, at the end of the bar. The TV was tuned to what appeared to be a girls' volleyball game; but the girls had horns, and they were knocking another horned woman's head back and forth over the net, while dressed in only their sneakers.

Willy said, "That's the Demon Network, Channel 666. Wide World of Hellish Sports. Bet you don't have entertainment like that, at your establishment."

"No we don't." I admitted, "But we do have a giant screen TV. Just tell me how to arrange for a closed circuit hookup. I'm sure the AfterDark would be packed."

"For that," Willy said, "you don't want these girlie games. You'll want the Demon Gladiator Playoffs. I've got tapes of last year's Final Game, if you'd like to buy one, to see what you'd be getting."

"Sure. I never book any entertainers, without an audition."

Another guy at the bar spoke. He was around my age. He was kind of short, but unlike the others, there was nothing thuggish about him.

"That isn't the only entertainment in town." He told me, "We do have a nightclub here called the 'Bronze'. My name's Daniel Osborn. Everyone calls me Oz. I play guitar with the Band. We call ourselves 'Dingoes Ate My Baby'."

"Interesting name." I laughed. "If that's part of your act, I don't think Beverly Hills is ready for it." Then I told him, "I can't promise anything, but I will come in and listen to you, while I'm here."

I stayed a Willy's about a half-hour. Then I left and drove back to the edge of town. I managed to get a room at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge. When the sun rose that morning, I would be safely inside my room, with the blinds drawn.

At 5 AM, I turned on the room's TV. It also had access to the Demon Network, but I switched to the Early Morning News from L.A. Just as I'd expected, my picture was being shown, and I was described as "Suspected in the vampire killing of Miss Kelly Taylor, the night before last, outside the AfterDark Nightclub in Beverly Hills, which is owned by Miss Malone."

The reporter also stated, "In a surprising development, a reward of $100,000, for information leading to the apprehension of Miss Malone, is being posted by her own business partner, Mr. Dylan McKay. Mr. McKay is reported to have been romantically involved with the late Miss Kelly Taylor."

I thought $100,000? Maybe I should turn myself in and collect the reward. Then when Kelly revives undead, she'll tell everyone who killed her. I'll be off the hook and $100,000 richer. Then I can get my life back to normal or as close to normal as possible.

On the other hand, if Dylan doesn't want the AfterDark to have any involvement with the demon world, I can always look into investing, in this local nightclub called the Bronze.

Then the Anchorman said, "This just in. The body of Miss Kelly Taylor has reportedly disappeared from the Beverly Hills Mortuary, where she was being prepared for her funeral. According to employees, her body was there, when they locked up, a little after 11 o'clock last night. When the cleaning crew arrived, around 3 o'clock this morning, Miss Taylor's body was gone from her coffin."

Time to panic again!

I thought, Kelly won't be telling anyone who killed her! I'm still the chief suspect!

I'm trapped! I don't have enough time to find another place to hide, before sunrise. I'll be stuck in this room all day, until the sun goes down, a little after 6:30 PM! By then, one of those guys from Willy's place, or the desk clerk here, will have I.D'd me to the police, and collected the reward!

The police will have arrested me, and dragged me outside, where I'll have burned up in the daylight, and gone back to Hell! Gone directly to Hell. Will not have passed go. Will not have collected $100,000.

So repent you sinners.

No. Don't panic.

I reached in my handbag and took out the Vampire's Handbook. I looked up the number of Wolfram and Hart, picked up my cell phone and dialed Lindsey McDonald's extension. I got a recording, stating that Mr. McDonald would not be in until 9 AM. The time was now 5:12 AM.

I left a recorded message. "Hello Mr. McDonald. This is Valerie Malone. You may have seen my picture on the TV News. I'm the chief suspect in the vampire murder of Kelly Taylor. I'm going to need Wolfram and Hart's help, both legally and...other ways...I'm not sure what those other ways are."

I gave him my cell phone number and hung up. Then I waited.

About a half-hour later, my cell phone rang.

I spoke into it, "Hello. Who's calling?"

"Valerie. This is Dylan."

He was the last one I'd expected to hear from.

"Dylan!" I snapped at him. "What's this $100,000 reward? You don't know who the vampire was who killed Kelly! You've got no business accusing me!"

"That doesn't matter now." He told me, "Listen. Kelly's gone from the Funeral Home."

"Yeah. I know. I just saw it on the News."

"She's now a vampire. She's outside my door, and she wants me to let her in, before sunrise."


	7. Chapter 7

7

It was about 45 minutes before sunrise, on a Saturday morning. I was inside my room in the Sunnydale Motor Lodge, when I received that frantic call on my cell phone from Dylan McKay.

I asked him, "Why are you calling me about this?"

"You're the only other vampire I know Val. You might be able to give me some advice."

"Well," I told him, "If you don't want Kelly to burn up into cinders when the sun rises, you'll have to let her into your house."

"But she's now a hungry vampire. If I let her in, she might try to kill me for nourishment, or Brenda."

I said, "Then you or Brenda'll just have to ram a sharp wooden stake through her heart."

"Val, it's not a joke. I don't want to kill Kelly. Neither does Brenda."

"Yeah." I said, "That's a real toughie isn't it?"

"'A toughie'?" He shouted, "What are you, making a joke about it?"

"Dylan." I asked, "You wouldn't just happen to have a pint bottle of pigs' blood in your refrigerator, would you?"

"Pigs' blood? In my fridge? Val! Stop making jokes!"

"Okay. Listen carefully. There's a six-pack of bottled pigs' blood' in the fridge in my office in the AfterDark. You can drive on over there, pick them up, and if you leave now, you can be back to your place, and in time to feed Kelly, before sunrise."

"I can't drive over. If I step outside she'll pounce on me."

"Like I said, you got a real toughie there."

In the background, I heard Brenda's voice. I couldn't understand her words. Dylan said something inaudible to her. She said something to him. Then he spoke over the cell phone to me.

"Listen Val. Brenda says I should toss my keys out the window to Kelly, so she can drive on over herself."

"Good idea. Just one thing Dylan..."

His voice was away from the phone again. Then he didn't speak to me for a minute or so.

Then he said, "It's okay Val. I tossed my keys out the window. Kelly's just drove off in my car. She'll be able to get into the AfterDark, and get the pigs' blood. Things'll be okay."

He clicked off his phone before I could say, "No they won't Dylan."

About a half-hour later my cell phone rang again. I answered.

"Valerie." The caller said, "It's Dylan. I just got a call from Kelly. She's inside your office in the AfterDark, but your refrigerator is locked."

"I tried to warn you," I told him, "but you hung up. I locked the fridge so no one would find the pigs blood. I didn't want anyone to find out I was a vampire."

He said, "And I bet you're the only one who has the key."

"No." I told him, "There is a duplicate."

"And where's that?"

"I'm not telling."

"What kind of game is this?"

"I'm not telling anyone where it is, until you cancel the reward for my arrest."

"Okay. Consider it canceled."

"No Dylan. I know how you are. I'm not telling you where it is, 'til I hear it on the News, that you've canceled the reward."

Then I hung up.

Let them sweat, I thought, I can wait. I've got all day.

All day to do what? To be stuck here inside this motel room, on the outskirts of Sunnydale?

I could check out the action in the Demonic Gladiator Games video.

I had the video that I'd got from Willy in my handbag. I slid it into the player and switched the TV to channel 3. Then I played the video.

I watched the "Valhalla Games". I saw an armed battle on an athletic field, between two teams of warrior men and women, armed with swords, spears and shields, fighting to the death between two goal posts. It was a truly bloody massacre. They counted the number of people killed, and the number wounded, along with the goals, to reach the final score. When the game ended, the head of every dead player was impaled on a stake, and a losing team's cheerleader was hanging from the winning team's goal post; and she wasn't the only dead cheerleader, or fan.

Then the video jumped ahead a few hours, to show all the headless demon warriors rising up. They walked over to the stakes. Each one picked up his or her head, and put it back on. Then the hanged cheerleader was brought down. The noose was removed from her neck, and she got back up on her feet. Then all those who had been killed said good-night, and went on their way home.

Before this, I would have been revolted by the whole thing; but now, as a vampire, I loved every minute of it. I was sure that if we showed a live, closed circuit cable broadcast of this event, at the AfterDark, we could charge $1000 a pop, and the place would be packed.

The video had lasted about two and a half-hours. When it ended, the time was almost 9 o'clock. This was gonna be a very long day.

I again switched to the 24-hour news from L.A.

They repeated the same story about Kelly's disappearance, and that I was the chief suspect. They said nothing about the reward, but they also did not say that it had been canceled.

My phone rang.

"Val. It's Dylan. I just got a call from Kelly. She's still inside the AfterDark, but she's starving. She says she's ready to go outside and pounce on the first person she sees. I need to know where the duplicate key is now."

"And I need to hear a News report, that you canceled the reward. They didn't say a word about it."

"I told them Val."

Then I asked, "Has Kelly told you who killed her?"

"Yes. She says it was a vampire named Harmony."

"Yeah. I know her. They do not call her 'Harm' for nothing. I'm finally off the hook."

"No you aren't." He said, "This Harmony told Kelly, that you put her up to it."

Wouldn't you know it? I thought, I've just been through the very worst night, followed by the very worst morning, to top off the very worst week of my entire life!

I bellowed. "What do you mean I put her up to it?"

"Did you tell Harmony that you wished you could bite all of us except Donna, and the one you wanted to kill most was Kelly?"

I wondered if I should tell him that I wasn't being serious, but Harmony obviously thought that I was.

What I did say was, "I'm exercising my right against self incrimination."

"Go right ahead." He told me, "Kelly'll be exercising her right, to bring an indictment against Harmony, and you'll also be named in the indictment, as a co-conspirator."

"Wait Dylan. I'll make it up to her."

"How can you possibly do that?"

"Call her, and ask her if she'll be willing to forget any charge against me, if I help her get all the pigs' blood she'll ever need."

"You mean you'll tell her where the key is?"

"Dylan. There is no duplicate key."

"Then you can forget about her dropping the charges."

"You don't need any key!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You spoiled, pampered, Beverly Hills dilettantes, must be the only people in Los Angeles, who don't know that you can buy all the pigs' blood, that any vampire could possibly need, in every single butcher shop in the City"  
I hung up.

Now what? By now the desk clerk of this Motel, along with that guy named Oz, and all those other guys who'd seen me in Willy's Place, must have I.D'd me to the police. That Lieutenant Colombo's probably on his way here with an arrest warrant in his pocket.

I'm gonna need a Lawyer.

I looked through the Vampire's Handbook, and found Wolfram and Hart's number again. I picked up my cell phone and called them, dialing Lindsey McDonald's extension once more. The time was 9:10 AM. Now he was at work.

He said, "Good morning Miss Malone. I just heard your voice mail."

I told him, "And I've just heard from Dylan McKay. Kelly Taylor has revived as a vampire. She's accused Harmony of killing her, and Harmony accused me of putting her up to it."

Mr. McDonald said, "Don't worry about it Miss Malone. That's just hearsay. It won't be allowed in Court."

"Thank you for saying that," I told him, "But I'm sure it's not that easy for me to just walk away from the whole thing."

"No it isn't Miss Malone. If you want Wolfram and Hart's help, it's going to be very costly."

"I figured that." I asked, "Can you give me an estimate of the cost?"

"Your entire interest in the AfterDark Nightclub."

"My entire interest? So that's what this is all about huh? Right from the beginning? Even before Spike bit me?"

"Exactly. You have a choice Miss Malone. Sign over your entire interest in the AfterDark to us, and you can continue to exist as a creature of the night. If you refuse, you'll be burning up in the daylight, before the sun sets today."

So repent you sinners.


	8. Chapter 8

8

Kelly Taylor was hungry. At 9:30 AM, she was seated at a table inside the otherwise deserted Beverly Hills nightclub, the Peachpit After/Dark. She sat in the dark silence, drinking red wine from a glass, trying not to scratch the vessel with her fangs, while wishing that the glass was filled with blood, of the human variety.

The blonde 20-year-old wore the modest blue dress she'd found herself in, when she woke up a little after midnight, in an open coffin inside a dark and deserted mortuary.

She'd lain there for a frighteningly long, amnesiac moment, trying to remember what she was doing in that place. Then she remembered.

She remembered late Thursday night, or maybe it happened early Friday morning. She'd been here at the After/Dark for a few hours. The Club had been busy. It was a good night for business, but the Manager; Valerie Malone wasn't there. No one had seen her since early Tuesday evening. There was nothing unusual about that. Valerie had a way of just vanishing for a few days, then returning without explanation.

"Whatever she's doing," Kelly's stepbrother David Silver said with a peeved tone, "it's better if we just don't know."

"Right." Kelly told him, "I don't think I want to know."

Kelly had left the Club around midnight, heading out across the parking lot to where her car was parked, with its front grill a few inches from the Club's brick wall.

She moved between her car's driver side and the vehicle on its left, reached in her handbag and took out her keys.

"Hey Kelly!"

A woman named Harmony had called out. She was also blonde and appeared to be around Kelly's age. She'd been showing up regularly at the After/Dark for about two weeks, accompanied by a guy named Spike, who spoke with a Cockney English accent. Spike had a mean look to him, so did Harmony. So far neither of them had caused any trouble.

She approached Kelly between both cars, blocking the woman between herself and the brick wall.

"Hi Harmony." Kelly asked, "How're you doing?"

"How I'm doing," she spoke with a peeved tone, "is that when it comes to guys, I really know how to pick 'em."

"You have that problem too, huh?"

"What I'm doing, is that I got into an argument with Spike. He just walked out and drove off, leaving me without a ride home."

"Welcome to Beverly Hills. I'll give you a ride home."

"Thank you Kelly."

"If you don't mind me asking, just what were you two arguing about?"

"Well," Harmony said, "You know that bimbo Valerie, who owns this place?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately. Since you're calling her a 'bimbo', I think I know what you're gonna tell me."

"Well, on Tuesday night, she and Spike were out here in this parking lot, doing it in the backseat of his car; like a couple of horny teenagers!"

Kelly nodded, "I figured that's what you we're gonna say. It's not the first time she's done something like that; and doing it with some other woman's guy, isn't even close to the worst things she's done."

Harmony said firmly, "Valerie Malone is a vampire."

"Right." Kelly nodded. "She should be classified among the lower beings, who everyone should do their best to avoid."

"Listen Kelly." Harmony told her, "When I called Valerie a 'vampire', it wasn't a figure of speech."

"It wasn't?"

"Spike is one himself."

"One what? A vampire?"

"That's right girl, and so am I."

Kelly now saw that the woman, who stood blocking her between both cars and the wall, had a pair of fangs protruding between her upper and lower lips.

Harmony told her, "And Valerie Malone is now my friend." She moved closer to Kelly. "She says that she wishes she could bite all of you except Donna, and the one she wants to kill most of all is you, Kelly."

That had happened either late Thursday night, or early Friday morning. Now it was Saturday morning, and Kelly Taylor was a vampire, hiding from the daylight, seated at a table in the dark and deserted nightclub.

Her cellphone rang. She put it to her ear.

"Hi Kelly." The caller said, "It's Dylan. I've just called Valerie again. She's finally cooperating. She said that a vampire can get all the pigs' blood he or she needs, in any butcher shop in the City."

"I can't get to any butcher shop at all Dylan. Not 'til after sunset. If I did go out in the sunlight, I'd burn up into ashes and soot."

"It's okay. I'm driving over to the butcher shop that's closest to my place. I'll get it to you by 10 A.M."

"Well you'd better hurry, or when you show up, I'll ignore the pigs' blood!"

Dylan's phone clicked off.

He'd better get the blood here quick, she thought, before the first employees show up. If he doesn't, I won't be able to keep myself from biting my fangs into the first employee's neck, and sucking out his or her blood, until he or she is dead. If that first employee just happens to be my stepbrother David, it won't make any difference.

Kelly remained seated at the table, waiting for Dylan, and getting hungrier.

I hope Valerie's the first employee to show up! Forget that! Even if she is what's the point? She's now a Vampire so biting her wouldn't do me any good.

Or would it? Can I get nourishment from blood that's already nourishing another vampire?

I don't know a thing about being a vampire. Is there any way to learn?

Just a few minutes after 10 AM, she heard sounds coming through the storeroom's doorway that stood to the bar's right. She heard footsteps. Then a male voice called out from the storeroom.

"Kelly?"

"I'm out on the main floor Dylan!"

"I've brought you the pigs' blood!"

She got up from the table, and headed toward his voice.

He called out again. "Can I trust you not to bite me?"

Kelly halted. "No! Not right now!"

"Then stay where you are! I'll toss it out to you! It's in a can!"

A dark object flew out through the storeroom doorway, hit the floor, bounced once and rolled along the tiles, until it bumped up against a table's legs, where it stopped moving.

Kelly pounced, diving below the table, and grabbed the wet, dark can. She brought it up to her mouth, put her fangs against the lid, and drove them in, with a much more powerful bite than she'd had before becoming undead.

She took one taste. Then she gagged.

"It's beer?" She howled, "Dylan? What the hell are you doing?"

Now Dylan stood beside her. She looked up at him, and saw that he was holding a cross.

She screamed, raising her hand to shield her eyes, while she cringed beneath the table.

Her voice whimpered. "What the hell's the matter with you? Don't you know what that does to a vampire?"

"I'm sorry Kelly. I had to distract you." He put a paper bag on the table. "I have brought you the blood. Just wait for me to back off."

He quickly backed away from the table, still holding the cross, and moved behind the bar.

"Okay." He told her. "You can come out now."

Kelly moved out from under the table, and stood up with her hand still raised to shield her eyes from the cross. She turned her back toward Dylan, opened the brown paper bag on the table, reached in and took out a large, sealed plastic container, containing a dark red liquid.

Dylan told her, "That's the blood."

Kelly took the container over to the table where she'd been sitting before he shown up. She pulled off the lid, and poured the contents into the wineglass, from which she'd drunk her non-nourishing breakfast. Then she gulped it all down fast.

She looked at Dylan, who continued holding the cross, and quickly looked away.

"Don't let go of that cross yet." she told him.

She filled the glass once more and gulped it all down again. Then she gulped down another glassful. Then she poured what remained in the container into the glass, and finished that off.

She looked at Dylan, still keeping her hand raised, to shield her eyes from the cross.

"It's okay." She told him, "I won't bite you now; but I have no idea how long it'll be before I get hungry again."

Now she seated herself at the table, feeling much calmer.

Dylan remained standing behind the bar. He laid down the cross but kept it within reach.

He asked, "So what do we do now?"

"I have no idea." She shook her head. "I still have to stay in here, until the sun goes down."

"After that what?"

"I don't know Dylan." She told him, "I don't know a thing about being a vampire! I have no idea how to handle it."

He said, "Valerie might know. Do you want me to call her? Then she can tell you what she knows."

He took out his cellphone.

"No! I never want to talk to Valerie Malone again! She's the one who had me killed!"

"I asked her about that. She's taking the Fifth."

"It figures. I'm not talking to her!"

"Okay. You don't have to. I'll call her."

Dylan picked his cross up off the bar, and went through the doorway into the storeroom.

Valerie? Kelly thought, You couldn't trust anything she had to say when she was alive; so why should I trust her now, when she's a vampire?

A sister vampire?

Sister? Yeah-right!

Dylan returned from the storeroom after about five minutes, and stood behind the bar again.

He told Kelly, "I just spoke to Valerie. She suggested that I get you a copy of the 'Vampire's Handbook'."

"There's a 'Handbook'?"

"She says it's what every new vampire should know."


	9. Chapter 9

9

A half-hour later, Kelly had moved into the brick walled Club Manager's office. Direct sunlight didn't shine through its frosted glass window. She now sat in the swivel chair behind Valerie's desk. The desk lamp was switched on. Dylan stood just inside the open door, cautiously watching her.

She ignored him, while facing the knee-high fridge in the corner to her left. The fridge had a lock on its door, and the lock was shut. Valerie had told Dylan that a six-pack of blood was behind the locked door. She'd also told him that the pack contained the "good stuff".

"It's okay Dylan." Kelly spoke with annoyance. "I'm no longer hungry. You don't have to stand as far away from me as you can get, any more."

"Right."

He remained in place.

"I don't need any key." She'd told him. "All I need is a hammer to break the lock."

"Break Valerie's lock?"

Kelly spoke sharply, "If she's got any complaints I'll buy her a new one!"

She began opening and shutting drawers in the desk.  
She asked, "Do you know if Val's got a hammer in here?"

"I'm sure she does." Dylan said uneasily, "At least somewhere here in the Club. I've never had to look for one in here before."

"Well stop hanging out in the doorway and start looking!"

He began poking around the shelves along the wall.

"Excuse me Kell." He said, "You've been in here for hours, but you didn't think of looking for a hammer until now?"

"Until now? I've just come back from being brain dead Dylan! My mind was clouded, until I drank that blood you gave me!"

"Right. I'm sorry."

She said, "And once I get into the fridge and drink the 'good stuff', my mind should be clearer than ever."

He stopped poking around the shelves, turned and looked at her.

"And what does a clear thinking vampire have on her mind?"

"What's on my mind, is figuring out what I'll have to do, to get away with drinking the good stuff, straight from its natural sources."

Sounds came through the doorway, from the out on the main floor. A guy called out.

"Dylan? Kelly?"

She turned the swivel chair and now sat facing the doorway, extending her fangs, which poked out between her upper and lower lips.

Dylan raised an open hand in her direction, making a calming gesture.

"We're in here Brandon!" He called out, "In Valerie's office!"

Brandon Walsh appeared in the doorway, with his right hand gripping the handles of a bulging plastic shopping bag at his side.

"Hi Dylan," he spoke calmly, "And hi..."

Kelly had rolled backward in the swivel chair, away from the desk, moving out of the lamp's direct light.

Brandon hesitated for a long moment. "Why Kelly, what big teeth you have." He spoke without amusement.

She told him, "All the better to you know what, Brandon!"

"It's okay." Dylan told him, "She's no longer hungry. I've given her enough pigs' blood."

Brandon lifted the plastic bag. "And I've brought more."

Kelly pointed. "Just leave it on the desk."

Brandon, her boyfriend for the present, moved cautiously forward, carrying the plastic bag that bulged with heavy plastic containers. He placed it on the desk top, then quickly backed away, and stood beside her former boyfriend, Dylan.

Kelly rolled up to the desk in the swivel chair. She spread the plastic bag open with her fingers and looked inside.

"Good." She said, "I'll take them with me, along with what's in the fridge."

Dylan said, "Take them with you? Where?"

She looked up at both of them, and spoke with hesitation.

"Do either of you have any suggestions?"

Brandon and Dylan looked at each other puzzled. Then they looked at Kelly again.

She told them, "If one of you can get your hands on a Vampire's Handbook, it might identify some safe places where vampires can go to live, or go to be undead."

"Vampire's Handbook?" Brandon added, "Where would you find one?"

Dylan said, "I spoke to Valerie on my cellphone about a half hour ago. She said she got her copy at Wolfram & Hart Headquarters."

"Wolfram and Hart?" Brandon repeated. "Isn't that some major law firm?"

"Wolfram and Hart Corp," Dylan told him, "is a vampire owned and operated corporation that provides goods and services, including legal services, to vampires and other beings who go bump in the night. Val said that its Legal Department employs vampires as enforcers."

"Enforcers?" Kelly asked, "Does that include Harmony? The one who did this to me?"

Dylan nodded, "That's what Valerie said. It's a place that's best for all of us to avoid."

"Not all of us." Kelly spoke, "Not for me. Since I'm already a vampire, I can go on down there tonight, and pick up a Handbook. Then I'll have some idea of what I'll have to be dealing with. I can pick up a few copies for both of you, and everyone else."

Brandon asked, "Everyone else?"

"Right. David, Donna, Brenda and Steve. Then you'll all know how to deal with me, and we can avoid trouble. She added, with a whimper in her voice, "I don't want to lose any of you as friends."

Dylan shook his head, "I don't know Kell. From what I've heard about Wofram & Hart, it's not all that safe for vampires either. If you do go down there tonight, there's no telling if we'll ever see you again."

"But I need that Vampire's Handbook!" There was a predator's growl in her voice.

Brandon spoke nervously. "It might be posted on the internet. Do you want to give it a look?"

He pointed to a laptop computer that lay open on the desk. Kelly pushed aside the plastic bag with the blood filled containers, picked up the computer and placed it in front of her. Then she switched on the device, logged on to google, and typed in the words "Vampire's Handbook", and then tapped "google search".

"There are 325,000 entries." she told them. "I'll have to narrow it down."

Dylan asked, "Gonna take a while huh?"

She sighed. "I don't know where to start."

"Try Wolfram & Hart's website."

She took his advice. In less than two minutes she said, "I've got it."

Brandon and Dylan came over beside her cautiously, and looked at the laptop's screen.

Kelly had logged onto the home page which displayed the title, "The Vampire's Handbook". Beneath that was the subtitle, "Being a Vampire Doesn't Have to Suck." Beneath the subtitle a smiley face with fangs was displayed. Under the smiley face a blurb appeared saying, "What every new vampire should know."

"Okay!" She said, "Let's see. 'Table of contents.'"

"Guys." She told them, "It looks like I really am gonna be here a while."

"Right." Dylan asked, "Is there anything you'd like us to do, while you're studying it?"

"Well for one thing," she spoke sharply, "You can get back to finding a hammer, and breaking that lock off the fridge!"

Right!

Dylan resumed poking around the shelves along the walls of the office, and searching through file cabinets, while Brandon left the office, to look for a hammer somewhere inside the building.

Brandon was back in less than five minutes, with a claw hammer in his hand.

It was on the shelf under the bar, just where you might expect.

Kelly remained seated at the desk, gazing at the laptop s screen. Dylan was back beside her.

He said, We ve found some very interesting things on this website.

And very useful. Kelly added. There s a very long list of places where anyone can purchase pigs blood. I won t have to bite anyone human.

Brandon said, That s good to know.

There are also some places listed, where I can go to purchase some of the good stuff , canned or bottled, anytime.

Canned or bottled? Brandon asked, Does that mean that you won t have any problem being a law abiding vampire, or will you?

Well. There will always be the problem of temptation.

Dylan backed away from her, and moved over beside Brandon, who stood just inside the open door.

She grinned at both very nervous looking guys, with her fangs extended. But if the temptation becomes too strong; there are certain websites listed here, where I can make reservations to go on hunting trips.

"Hunting?" Brandon asked, "For blood of the human variety?"

"What else?" She told him, "Here it says 'The good stuff'. I assume that's what it means."

Now Dylan spoke. "I know whose blood I'd like to go hunting for, and it isn't anyone human; or at least no longer human. I'd like to ram a sharp wooden stake into that Harmony Bitch, for doing this to you, Kelly."

She said, "Forget it Dylan!"

Brandon agreed, "You'll be biting off too much. You go after her, and then every vampire at Wolfram & Hart'll be coming after you and maybe the rest of us."

"Don't worry you two." He told them, "I'm not going off half cocked. I'm gonna be getting myself the right kind of help."

"Like who?"

"People who know how to fight vampires." Dylan said, "Kelly, will you check and see if this Handbook says anything about any people, or organizations who actually fight vampires?"

Kelly checked further.

"I've got it." She said, "Right here in L.A. There's a detective agency named "Angel Investigations."

Dylan asked, "Can you give me their number? I'll give them a call."

Brandon said, "Wait Dylan. Before we call in any vampire hunters, let's make sure we've got Kelly in a safe place first. We don't want them going after her too."

"Right. Okay Kell, check again. See if there's any place, within reasonable distance, where a vampire might be reasonably safe."

She did as he asked. Then she said, "The nearest place recommended is Sunnydale."

"Sunnydale?" Brandon said, "Right. It is known as 'Vampire Town'."

"Except, " she spoke further, "Sunnydale is also the home of Buffy Summers, the Vampire Slayer herself."


	10. Chapter 10

10

"They can't be serious!" Dylan said, "The safest place for a vampire to hide, is the town where the Vampire Slayer lives?"

Kelly sighed and stared blankly at the computer screen. She, Brandon and Dylan were all uncomfortably quiet for a few moments. They heard the morning traffic passing on the street outside.

Brandon finally spoke, "That could mean that for any vampire, no place is any safer than Sunnydale."

She sighed again, this time with a whimper in her voice.

The cell phone on Dylan's belt rang. He grabbed it, and put the device to his ear.

"Hi." He said, "Valerie?"

"No." A man spoke. "I'm not Valerie Malone. I'm calling a Mr. Dylan McKay."

"That's me. I'm Dylan McKay. Who are you?"

"My name is Lindsay McDonald, Mr. McKay. I am an attorney. I work for the firm of Wolfram & Hart."

"Wolfram & Hart?"

Brandon and Kelly both looked startled, while Dylan continued listening to the man on the phone.

"Yes." The man said, "I have been retained to represent the legal interests of Miss Valerie Malone."

"Oh I see." Dylan spoke to Brandon and Kelly. "Valerie's got herself a lawyer."

"Good idea." Brandon said

Kelly nodded. "She's gonna need one."

"Listen Mr. McDonald." Dylan told him, "I have good news for your client. I have an eyewitness who can give testimony, that Valerie Malone was not the vampire who killed Kelly Taylor. Miss Taylor has returned as a vampire herself, and has identified her real killer as another vampire named Harmony."

"That's good to hear, but do you know that for an actual fact, or is that just hearsay?"

"What I did hear, was Miss Taylor say that herself."

"Would you know how I can contact her, so we can arrange for a meeting, where she can give me a sworn deposition?"

"Could you please hold on a moment?"

Dylan spoke to Kelly. "Valerie's lawyer wants to meet with you, so you can make a sworn deposition, identifying the vampire who actually killed you."

Brandon spoke, "Do either of you realize just how strange that statement sounds?"

Kelly told him, "Nobody realizes that more than I do, Brandon.

"Dylan." She told him, "Tell Valerie's lawyer, that Harmony gave me the impression, that his bimbo client put her up to it."

Dylan resumed speaking on the phone. "If Kelly gives you her deposition, it would be definitely detrimental to your client. I've spoken to Valerie Malone myself, and she's exercising her Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination."

"Yes, I know, but that's not the only reason I called. I'm also representing her business interests. I understand, Mr. McKay, is that you and she are both part owners of the nightclub, the Peachpit After/Dark."

"Oh, I see. You not only want to take a deposition, you want a business meeting too?"

"Yes. As soon as possible. Sometime today perhaps. My calendar is clear this afternoon, from 2:30 to 3 PM. Can you be in my office then?"

"Not this afternoon." Dylan told him, "You seem to be forgetting that Miss Kelly Taylor is now a vampire, and she can't go outside in the daylight. It could be detrimental to her existence."

"Right. So how about us meeting in my office this evening?"

"This evening? You want the two of us to come to Wolfram and Hart's headquarters tonight, when all their vampire employees, including Harmony, will be on the job? Forget it Mr. McDonald. It could not only be detrimental to her existence, but mine also. If you want a meeting, it will have to be in a place and time when it will be safe for everybody."

"Very well Mr. McKay. Can you suggest a place and time?"

"I'm not sure. I'll have to get back to you on that Mr. McDonald."

Then Dylan clicked off his cell phone.

Dylan said, "A lawyer from Wolfram and Hart is not only Valerie's lawyer. He also works with Harmony. It's obvious to me, that he doesn't really want any deposition. He want's to know where you are, so Harmony and her friends can eliminate you as a witness, Kelly."

She said, "And this is the first place they'll come looking! As soon as it gets dark."

Brandon said, "Then we've got to get you out of L.A. before dark, but you can't go any place outside until after sunset, which is around 6:30."

She spoke bitterly. "Maybe you should lock me in the walk in refrigerator. It can't harm me now."

Now another male voice called out from the main floor. "Who's here? Who's in the office?"

Brandon said, "David?"

"He is the D.J." Dylan said. "He does have a key."

Kelly said, "He's my brother. We have to let him know about me."

"Right."

"I'm Dylan, David! We're all in here."

David Silver stepped through the doorway, but he wasn't alone. A woman was with him; she was in her mid-twenties, wore a stylish, light green business outfit and had expensively coiffeured hair. Brandon recognized her. He'd seen her in the club before, but they'd never spoken.

David said, "Hi Dylan, Brandon. Hi..."

He was startled to see who was seated behind the desk.

"Kelly?"

His step-sister said, "You're not alone?"

He said, "You're not dead!"

The woman declared, "Yes she is, Mr. Silver. To be more specific, she's undead."

Now Dylan asked, "And just who are you?"

"Guys. Everyone." David replied, "This is Cordelia Chase. She is an employee of Angel Investigations. Miss Chase, this is Dylan McKay, part owner of this establishment. This is Brandon Walsh, boyfriend of..." he pointed uneasily "my 'late' sister Miss Kelly Taylor."

Miss Chase reached in her handbag and took out a cross, that she held up for everyone to see. Kelly turned her head away and raised her hands, to shield her eyes, as her fangs became extended.

"Put that away!" She shouted. "I'm not gonna hurt anyone! I've already eaten!"

Now the woman asked, "Anyone you know?"

Dylan called out, "No lady! She's only had pigs' blood!"

Miss Chase asked, "Are you sure of that?"

"Positive!"

Now Brandon spoke. "Will you put that away lady? Things are hard enough for all of us, as it is."

"Not 'til she retracts her fangs."

Kelly did as the woman asked.

"Okay." The woman put the cross back in her handbag. "But if she gets up out of that chair, I'm taking it out again."

"No problem." Now Kelly said, "Angel Investigations? I've been checking things out, on the Vampires' Handbook website. It says that Angel Investigations is a detective agency that hunts vampires."

David spoke. "I didn't hire them to hunt you Kelly. If I knew you were 'back', believe me, I wouldn't have brought her in here."

"I know that David. It's okay."

"I've hired them to hunt down that vampire bitch Harmony, who did this to you."

"Good." Kelly spoke to the woman, "While you're at it, how'd you like to add the vampire bimbo Valerie Malone to the list? She's the one who put her up to it."

Cordelia spoke to Dylan, "Isn't this Valerie Malone the one who you posted that $100,000 reward for?"

"The reward for Valerie's been canceled." He said, "Kelly was misinformed about her involvement. I'm reposting the reward for Harmony instead."

"Thank you Mr. McKay. I'm sure that Angel himself will be very appreciative."

Brandon asked, "Angel?"

The woman nodded, "That's right. He's my boss. Angel, 'The vampire with a soul'."

Kelly asked, "With a soul? A vampire?"

"That's right. One hundred years ago, a group of gypsies cursed him, by using the Orb of Thessella to restore his soul. That filled him with remorse for all the evil he'd done, for the previous hundred years. Since then he's been trying to redeem himself, by destroying other vampires."

"Wait a minute!" Dylan said, "A vampire's soul can be restored, by using this 'Orb of Thessella'? Do you think Kelly's soul can be restored the same way?"

"I can't think of any reason why not. Of course you have to have someone with magical powers, speak an incantation over it, in Latin."

"Dylan?" Kelly asked, "You want to restore my soul?"

"Right. Before you get around to doing anything evil. You won't have anything to be remorseful about."

The he asked Cordelia, "Would you happen to know where this 'Orb of Thessella' is, and if there is anyone with magical powers, who can speak the incantation in Latin?"

"Yes." She told him, "As a matter of fact I do. They can both be found in Sunnydale."


	11. Chapter 11

11

By 1:30 PM on Saturday afternoon, the two of them had been on the road for two and a half hours. They'd spent the last 30 minutes driving in an open convertible, past patches of wild cactus, along a two-lane asphalt road, through the arid southern California countryside. Now their trip was almost over. They were approaching Sunnydale.

"I can't believe we're doing this." said Brandon, who sat in the front passenger seat. "We're actually driving along, with a dead woman in the trunk of our car."

"Correction." said Dylan, who was behind the wheel said. "That's an undead woman."

Brandon sighed. "The things we do for love."

They drove past the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign, rounded a curve and the town came into sight. From a distance, in the daytime, it looked like any typical southern California community.

They drove on further, and came to the Sunnydale Motor Lodge, pulled off the road here, and drove up to the office, where they checked in. Then they drove over to room 103, and parked outside.

Behind the window to room 104, the blinds were shut. One slat in the blinds opened a crack. The room's occupant looked through the crack, to see Brandon and Dylan getting out of their car.

The occupant thought, They've found me?

The new arrivals reached into the back seat, and each took out an overnight bag. They shut and locked the car, then carried their bags into room 103.

They haven't come to my door? Room 104's occupant wondered. They're staying in the next room? Do they know I'm here?

The two guys went back out into the parking lot, stood behind Dylan's car and looked around.

"Okay." Brandon said, "No cars coming in either direction."

Dylan knocked on the trunk three times. "Kelly!" He called out, "Are you ready?"

A woman's muffled voice came from inside the trunk. "Okay! You can open it now!"

Dylan unlocked the trunk, and opened it wide. Inside the trunk, Kelly was lying, completely covered from head to foot in a blue blanket; like an Arab woman in traditional robes. Her face was also covered with a towel. A plastic red and white cooler was beside her.

Brandon asked, "Are you breathing okay?"

"I'm a vampire Brandon." She spoke through the towel. "I'm not breathing at all."

"You're not? Then how are you able to speak?"

"I have no idea. Do you guys want to help me get out of here?"

Dylan and Brandon reached in, took her by the arms, which she kept folded inside the blanket, and helped lift her up and out of the trunk. Then she stood on the parking lot's asphalt pavement. Brandon reached inside the trunk, picked up an umbrella that he opened, and held it between Kelly and the sun.

She asked, "An umbrella to keep the fire off me?"

"Let's get inside quick."

The three hurried inside Motel Room 103. Then Brandon went back out to the car, reached in the trunk again, and lifted out the red and white plastic cooler with both hands. He shut the trunk and carried the cooler into the Motel Room. Dylan shut the door behind him. Dylan had also shut the blinds, and turned on a lamp.

Kelly had removed the blanket and towel. She now stood before the mirror on the wall above the dresser, still wearing the modest blue dress.

"I look awful!" She said, "My hair's a mess. I don't have a comb or any make-up either."

Dylan said, "That's okay. We'll get you whatever you need, when we're in town."

Rooms 103 and 104 were adjoining. The occupant of 104 knelt beside the adjoining doors, listening to their voices.

Now Brandon spoke. "Wait a minute? You can see yourself in that mirror? I can't see your reflection."

"Neither can I." said Dylan.

"But I can see myself." Kelly told them, "I've heard that about vampires."

Then she asked, "So now what?"

Dylan said, "Now it's time for me and Brandon to drive on into town, and start looking for that 'Orb of Thessella'."

Brandon asked, "You won't have any problem with us leaving you alone like this, will you Kelly?"

"It's okay. No problem. The room's got cable TV, and there's that cooler full of pigs' blood," she smiled, "and the good stuff too. There's no reason for me to go outside. Both of you can take all the time you need."

Brandon and Dylan then went out the door, shutting it behind themselves. Kelly heard the car's engine start, and the vehicle driving off.

Now she was alone in the room. The time was a little after 2 in the afternoon. She sat on the edge of the double bed nearest the door, and wondered, Now what?

The guys had gone looking for this "Orb of Thessela". According to Cordelia Chase, the Orb could be purchased in Sunnydale, in a shop called the Magic Box. She'd also identified the person who had magical powers, and the ability to speak incantations in Latin.

Kelly thought, They're gonna be gone for the rest of the day. What do I do until they return?

She looked at the plastic cooler on the floor, under the window.

I'm not hungry now. I have no idea when I'll be hungry again. I think I saw something about that on the website, but I didn't get around to reading it. I'll see what's on TV.

The TV's remote control tuner lay on the night table between the headboards of both beds. She got up to reach for the device, then she halted.

She heard a sound of a door opening, coming through what Kelly had thought was a closet door, in the wall across from the foot of both beds.

That's not a closet, she thought. It's the door to an adjoining room! Somebody's coming in here!

She felt her fangs instinctively extend.

No trouble please! She thought, I don't want any trouble!

Then the door to the adjoining room swung open, and a woman around Kelly's age stepped into Room 103. The woman had dark hair, and wore the same low cut, thigh high, tight, shimmering green dress, that she'd had on the night before, in the Peachpit After/Dark.

She and Kelly looked at each other uneasily for a long, uncomfortable moment.

Then the woman said, "Hi Kelly."

"Good afternoon Valerie." Kelly asked, "How you been?"

"Dead." Valerie told her, "Then undead. You?"

Kelly felt her fangs retract. "Same here."

"Before I became undead," Valerie told her, "I was in Hell. No surprise huh? How about you?"

"I have no memory from when I was dead, but I do remember what happened just before that. I remember being attacked by a woman vampire named Harmony."

"Hey! Whatever she told you, I didn't ask Harmony to kill you!"

"She said you told her that I was the one who you wanted to kill the most."

"She misunderstood me." Valerie said, "I didn't say that I wanted her to kill you. I meant that I wanted to do it myself."

Kelly said, "Then you're too late."

Valerie shrugged. "And it wouldn't have done any good anyway. We're now both vampire women. I've got fangs and so do you, but that still hasn't stopped you from being the one who gets the guys. Two of them! Together! In the same motel room!"

There was an uncomfortable silence between them for a few moments.

Then Kelly asked, "So this is where you've been hiding out? The Sunnydale Motor Lodge of all places."

"Safe place for an innocent vampire to hide, 'til things cool down; and I can stop worrying about people wanting to ram a sharp wooden stake through my heart; or at least I thought it was safe."

"Innocent?" Kelly chuckled. "You?"

"Yeah-me! 'Innocent' defined as not guilty of any involvement in your killing.

"When I saw Dylan and Brandon drive up, I was sure they'd found me; and they were gonna be coming in here after me, with sharp wooden stakes. But they didn't come to my room. They came in here with you instead. You had no idea I was here, did you?"

"Not until now Valerie. Why'd you come in here anyway? If you'd just stayed in your room, we wouldn't have known."

"That's what I was planning; but while I was eavesdropping, I heard one of you mention the Orb of Thessella. That's what the guys have gone looking for. They want to use it to restore your soul. I'd like to be included in the same restoration."

Kelly sounded puzzled. "Now since when would somebody like you, want her soul restored? I think you'd be a lot more comfortable without one."

"Not as comfortable as you think. Believe it or not Kelly, I want another chance."

"Another chance to do what?"

"To keep from going to Hell, Kelly." Valerie went on. "Hell is real, and it's exactly like what those Fundamentalist Preachers say, and what you see in those medieval paintings. Fire and brimstone and demons with horns sticking burning pitchforks into you. It's all real."

"Oh." Kelly shuddered, "Demons really do stick pitchforks in you?"

"Yeah. I had my own personal demon named Egbert. He had a fiery pitchfork stabbed inside my naked body, and he was never gonna take it out."

Kelly laughed, "'Egbert'?"

"Yeah. He was giving me multiple orgasms of extreme agony. If I hadn't become undead, that would have gone on forever, and when I say 'forever', that isn't a figure of speech."

"Multiple orgasms?"

"Right. I'm totally in love with that horny fella. Forever."

"In love?"

"Or in lust, of the kinkiest, most thoroughly degrading, masochistic kind. Nobody does it better than Eggy;" she shook her head. "but that's not enough for me to ever want to go back."


	12. Chapter 12

12

Dylan and Brandon had reached the edge of Sunnydale, driving past the parking lot of the local Doublemeat Palace franchise. Dylan was still behind the wheel of the convertible. The cell phone on his belt sounded. He pulled it out and looked at the screen.

He sounded puzzled. "It's from Kelly?

"I'll talk to her," said Brandon, "while you keep your eyes on the road."

"Right."

Dylan handed him the cell phone.

Brandon pressed the answer button and put the phone to his ear.

"Hi Kelly. It's Brandon."

"Good. With what I've got to say, I'm glad you're not the one who's driving."

"What is it Kell?

"Well, you see...Valerie's here, with me, in the Motel room."

He asked Dylan, "Do you want to pull over and stop for a moment?"

Dylan did as he asked.

When the car had stopped, Brandon told him, "Valerie's in the Motel room with Kelly."

"Valerie?"

"Yeah. She just happened to be staying in the room next to ours. They're adjoining rooms, and she came through the adjoining doors."

Dylan asked, "Does Kelly want us to come back?"

Brandon repeated the question to her.

"No. I'm safe with her now. She can't hurt me and I can't hurt her. She wants our help."

Brandon told Dylan, "Valerie wants our help."

Dylan sighed with exasperation. He reached over, and Brandon handed him the phone.

Then Dylan spoke into the device. "Put her on, Kelly."

He heard Valerie's voice. "Hi Dylan."

"What he hell do you mean you want our help? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go looking for help, from this 'Vampire Slayer', and send her after you?"

"If you send her after me, she'll be coming after Kelly too."

"Right. Okay, tell me. What do you want anyway?"

Dylan listened, then he looked over at Brandon.

"Valerie wants us to help keep her out of Hell."

Brandon beckoned and Dylan handed him the phone.

"Valerie listen carefully." Brandon told her, "If you want to stay out of Hell, then repent you sinner."

She told him, "That's what I've been telling myself, since I became undead."

"Then I suggest you take your own advice."

He handed the cell phone back to Dylan, who clicked it off.

Back in the motel room, Valerie handed the cell phone back to Kelly. Then she pointed at the plastic cooler.

"Have you got blood in there?"

Kelly nodded, "Pigs' blood in plastic containers, and cans that are said to contain the 'good stuff'."

"Are they the cans that were in the fridge in my office?"

"Yes. Unfortunately we had to break the lock off with a hammer to get to them. We'll pay you for a new one."

"That's okay. Just one thing, Kelly." Valerie told her, "The cans are mine. I'd like to have them back."

"Go ahead Val." Kelly told her, "I've got enough for myself."

Valerie went over to the cooler, lifted the lid, and saw a half dozen plastic containers filled with red liquid, and one six pack of 12 ounce cans, all lying in a pile of ice cubes, taken from the ice machine in the After/Dark. She reached in and removed the six pack.

Then she said, "There's a microwave oven in my room. After I've warmed up the contents, how'd you like to share some of the good stuff with me?"

"Valerie." Kelly told her, "Just go back into your room and stay there."

"If I stay in my room Kelly, I won't be able to show you my copy of the Vampire's Handbook."

"You have a copy?"

"That's right. It contains everything that all new vampires, like the two of us should know. It's been very helpful to me, and it might be even more of a help to you."

"Even more? In what way?"

"Well for one thing, you'll learn that the subtitle is right. Being a vampire doesn't have to suck. You want to be ready for both Brandon and Dylan, when they return, don't you?"

"Right." Kelly smiled. "Valerie, will you please let me take a look at your copy of the Vampire's Handbook?"

"Right away." Valerie said, "Kelly, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

"So do I. There's just one thing that I'm wondering about."

"And what's that?"

"Does Egbert has a friend, so you and I can make your next encounter with him a double date."

Out on the road, Dylan and Brandon had resumed driving into Sunnydale.

Brandon asked, "So do you really want to go looking for this Vampire Slayer?"

"Not 'til after we've found the Orb of Thessella and restored Kelly's soul, and then taken Kelly as far from this Sunnydale as we can get. As for Valerie, she's on her own."

"Good enough."

They drove on further, and were soon moving along Main Street, passing the Sun Cinema, and a nightclub called the Bronze. They went a short distance further, along the next block, where they spotted a small shop with a sign above the door identifying the establishment as the "Magic Box." They parked, got out of the car and entered the shop. A bell above the door jingled.

They'd entered a softly lit establishment consisting of shelves displaying all types of magical paraphernalia, along with ghoulish looking items, such as replicas of skulls, dismembered eyeballs, and other parts of human and non-human anatomies. There were big hairy spider replicas, occultic items, and things that neither Brandon nor Dylan were able to identify. There were also many books about magic, the occult and "Books of Forbidden Knowledge" for anybody to purchase.

Dylan spoke with disdain. "These are just toys Brandon. It's all fake. We're not gonna find what we're looking for in here."

A woman's spoke, "I wouldn't be that quick to dismiss every item we have in stock sir!"

The woman who spoke, stood behind the counter, beside the cash register. She had a trim figure and long brown hair, was in her early twenties, and wore a modest blue business outfit. She stepped around the counter and walked up to the two young guys from Beverly Hills. A nametag clipped on her vest identified her as "Anya".

Anya spoke firmly. "You gentlemen would be surprised to see, just how genuine and just how powerful, many of the items that we have in stock are."

Brandon told her, "We aren't looking for many items. Just one."

Dylan asked, "You wouldn't just happen to have a 'genuine' and 'powerful' Orb of Thessella in stock, would you?"

Anya's expression changed. She cast an uneasy glance toward the rear of the sales floor, where a large round table stood. Two women around her age were seated at the table, going through some old books. When Dylan spoke the words "Orb of Thessella" they both looked up and turned their attention toward him and Brandon.

Anya sighed. "That may be just too powerful for either of you to deal with. Its misuse has been known to lead to more irreversible harm than anyone could possibly imagine. Unless you know exactly what you're doing, I cannot, in good conscience, sell it to either of you gentlemen."

"We don't want to misuse it," Brandon said, "'Anya'. We wish above all else, that we didn't have any need to use it at all, but a woman who we both care for very deeply, is in need of its use."

The two women who'd been seated at the table had gotten up and come over to them. One was blonde and the other had red hair.

"So." The blonde woman spoke with a smirking tone in her voice. "A woman who you both care for very deeply has been vamped, and you want to restore her soul, huh?"

Dylan spoke with annoyance. "You think that's funny?"

"No. I'm just cynical. It comes with the job."

"Oh? And just what job is that Miss...Miss?"

She smiled, "That's Miss Buffy Summers, also known around these parts as 'The Vampire Slayer'."

Both guys from Beverly Hills looked at each other.

Brandon said, "Forget it Dylan! We're out of here! Now!"

He began to move toward the door. Buffy moved quickly, blocking his way.

"Get out of our way!" Dylan demanded, "We're not telling you who she is or where she is; and you'd better not try to follow us."

"A vampire with a soul," Buffy told them "isn't any less dangerous, than a vampire without one."

Brandon said, "She's only been drinking pigs' blood. So far she hasn't harmed anyone."

"That's so far, but eventually the temptation's going to become too great."

Now the red head spoke. "Maybe not Buffy. If her soul's restored, it might make her stronger. Let's give her a chance."

"A chance? To bite one of these guys, who care about her so much?"

"Not just them Buff. How about giving me a chance too?" She sounded miffed, "You don't have to be the whole show all the time, you know."

Buffy looked embarrassed at her words.

"Sorry Willow." The Slayer told her, "If you want to give it a shot, go ahead."

Brandon asked to other woman, "You're giving it a shot?"

"That's right." The red head smiled, "Hi. I'm Willow Rosenberg. Resident Witch."

Dylan repeated skeptically, "Witch?"

"That's right. If you want to restore the soul of the woman who you both love, you're gonna be needing someone with magical powers to speak the incantation. Without it," she shook her head; "The Orb of Thessella is just a globe of solid glass. But with me, in spite of what my best friend in all the world, Buffy here said, you'll both be a lot safer with the woman who you both love."


	13. Chapter 13

13

Inside Motel room 103 at the Sunnydale Motor Lodge, the blinds remained shut, keeping out the late afternoon sunlight. Kelly and Valerie sat on the foot of the bed nearest the door, looking through the pages of Valerie's copy of the Vampires Handbook.

Kelly said, "These 'Hunting Trips' do look very intriguing." She read, "Dining in Mexico. All the hombres you can eat, all the time. We can really pig out."

Valerie pointed to a full colored glossy photo, that accompanied the list.

"That hombre's the kind of game we'd be hunting. Wouldn't you just love to try out your brand new fangs in a neck like his? I know I sure would."

"No." Kelly told her, "To be perfectly honest, I think I'd like to try them out on Brandon, or Dylan."

"Same here."

"Or Steve, or even my stepbrother David."

"All very tempting."

"But that's not gonna happen. I'm gonna use self control. Just 'cause I'm now a vampire, it doesn't mean that I can't still be a responsible, law abiding citizen."

"Same here." Valerie said, "I'm gonna be a good girl from now on. My fiery romantic interlude with Egbert was enough for me."

From beyond the window they heard a car drive up and stop just outside the door. Kelly got up, went over to the blinds and opened one of the slats a crack.

"They're back!" She said, "They're not alone. There's a woman with them."

Valerie asked, "The Slayer?"

"Who knows?"

Valerie's fangs extended. "I'll be in my room. Knock three times when it's safe."

She hurried away from Kelly, dashed through the open adjoining doors, shutting them both behind her. Kelly was now alone in Room 103.

The door to the outside opened, letting bright glaring daylight into the room, as Dylan, Brandon and a red haired woman around Kelly's age entered. Kelly put her open hands over her eyes, cringing away from the light. Her fangs extended instinctively.

"Shut the door! Please! Shut the door!"

Dylan did as she asked, and the room returned to its safe dimness. Kelly calmed down.

"It's okay Kelly." Dylan said, "Things are gonna start to get better right now."

The red haired woman looked at Kelly's fangs uneasily. She smiled. "Hi Kelly. I'm Willow Rosenberg. I'm a witch, and a very powerful one."

Kelly looked uneasily at Brandon and Dylan. "A very powerful Witch?"

"But I use my power for good." Then Willow added, "Usually."

"Just 'usually'?"

"Well, there have been some very bad moments, when I've really lost it; and gone over to the dark side; but once I've worked through my rages, I've always come back to being good again."

"That's good to know." Kelly remained uneasy. "You're not in any kind of a rage now, are you?"

"Nope. Just trying to be helpful. I'll be doing what I can to restore your soul."

Brandon repeated the word, "Rages?"

Dylan was carrying a small, brown paper bag. He reached in and pulled out a clear, crystal sphere, about the size of a softball.

"Here" he said, "is the Orb of Thessella."

Kelly stepped up to him, to take a close look at the orb.

He told her, "If you're gonna stand this close to me, please retract those fangs."

She did as he asked.

Then she asked, "This can restore a vampire's soul?"

Brandon said, "We've been told that it can, when someone with magical powers speaks the correct incantations over it in Latin. Miss Rosenberg here does have those powers, and she knows all the right incantations."

Willow told them, It doesn t actually have to be in Latin. The spells work just as well in English, as they do in any dead language, or living language either.

Now the door to the adjoining room opened. Valerie stepped through the doorway, back into Room 103. Her fangs remained extended.

"Hi guys." She spoke to Willow. "Have you got the ability to make this a two for one operation?"

The woman spoke nervously, "Two vampires?"

"It's okay." Kelly told them, "We've both been drinking pigs blood. I'm no longer hungry. How about you Val?"

"That all depends on her."

Willow's voice trembled. "A two-fer's no problem. The thing is, the operation can only be performed, one restoration at a time."

"Go ahead." Valerie told her, "We've got plenty of time, and neither of us is going anyplace, til it gets dark."

"Good enough." Willow told them, "I think it's best for me to start with the vampire who's the greatest danger to others. Would any of you have any idea, which one of these gals that would be?"

Brandon, Dylan and Kelly all pointed at Valerie.

"She is!"

Valerie rolled her eyes and sighed.

She said, "Then good for me. I get to go first."

"Okay." Willow said, "This shouldn't take too long."

She reached out and Dylan placed the Orb of Thessella in her hand. Then Willow stepped up to Valerie, holding the orb just below her own lips, with Dylan beside her. He reached in his pocket and took out a cross.

Brandon had also stepped up to Kelly, and taken a cross out of his own pocket.

She and Valerie both cried out, and shielded their eyes while cringing.

"Sorry girls." Brandon told them, "While she's performing the restorations, Miss Rosenberg'll be standing within biting distance of a vampire, so we have to play it safe."

Willow repeated to the trembling Valerie, "It shouldn't take all that long."

"Okay!" Valerie snapped, "Get on with it!"

Then Willow began the incantation.

"Hear me oh spirit of this undead,  
Body from whom her soul has fled.  
This Orb's power does now restore,  
Her soul into her corpse's core..."

Valerie gasped. "Uuuuh!" Then she spoke softly. "Good bye Egbert."

Willow gazed into the Orb, looking startled.

She asked Valerie, "You've been one of Egbert's impalements?"

Valerie asked her, "You know about Egbert?"

Willow nodded, "I met him once, during one of my darkest rages." She had a dreamy look on her face. "He gave me a really great tickle with the prongs of that pitchfork of his. Didn't want him to stop. Ever."

"Yeah." Valerie chuckled. "I know what you mean."

"Yeah." Now Kelly leered. "Valery's been telling me all about Egbert. She says he gives great pitchfork."

"Best forking I've ever had."

Now Dylan asked, "Just who is this 'Egbert'?"

"Oh! Sorry." Willow shook herself. "Back to the restoration. Let's see. Where was I?"

"It's okay." Valerie told her, "I've stopped cringing."

Kelly spoke. "So have I."

Valerie stared straight at the cross in Dylan's hand, without any fear. Kelly did the same with the cross that Brandon was holding. Both vampire women reached out, and touched those crosses without being harmed.

Kelly said, "I think this means that both our souls have been restored."

"That's right." Willow told them. "I told you it shouldn't take all that long. My work here is done."

Valerie said, "And now I'm suddenly hungry."

Kelly added, "So am I."

Willow said, "Oops!"

The read haired woman moved back a few steps from Valerie, reached in her handbag, and pulled out a foot long, sharp wooden stake. She raised it to her shoulder height, and stood trembling, looking back and forth between both Kelly and Valerie.

"Hey!" Brandon said, "What are you doing? You've just gave them their souls back!"

"Sorry." Willow told them, "You see, now that their souls are restored, they're a pair of hungry vampire girls, who can no longer be held off by those crosses you're holding. I should have explained that before, but it completely slipped my mind."

Kelly spoke sharply, "Calm down lady! We've got all the blood we need right here!"

She pointed toward the cooler on the floor.

Valerie added, "And it's all the legal stuff."

Dylan asked, "That should be enough, shouldn't it?"

"Hopefully." Willow shook her head, "No guarantee about that.

Brandon asked, "Do you want either Dylan or I to give you a ride back into town?"

"No. It'll be better for everyone here, if both of you drive me back, and don't return."

Dylan asked, "Don't return? Forget it! They ve got all the blood they need right here."

Willow said, "I still wouldn't trust either of them."

Brandon said, "But you don't know Kelly. With her soul restored, she'll be the woman she was before; and the way she was before, was never violent."

Willow looked at Valerie. "What about her? Before now, could you trust her?

Dylan and Brandon both looked uncomfortable.

Valerie sighed and rolled her eyes again. "It's okay. As long as I've got enough pigs blood to drink, everyone'll be safe with me. Listen. Dylan and I are part owners of a nightclub in Beverly Hills. I'm not gonna do anything that'll lead to me losing my share in it. Is that good enough?"

Both guys shrugged and nodded.

Dylan said, "Sounds reasonable to me."

Brandon said, "Right."

Kelly nodded her head.

"Okay." Willow told them, "If you guys want to spend your time with a pair of sexy vampire gals, I understand it; but remember, you've been warned."

Miss Rosenberg went to the door and opened it, letting in the glaring light of late afternoon, causing both Kelly and Valerie to cringe out of its way. Then Kelly growled. Willow hurried out the door and slammed it shut behind herself.

Kelly then moved over and stood with her back against the door, blocking the way out. Her fangs were now extended.

Then I, Valerie also moved and shut the adjoining door, while I extended my own fangs.

"So tell us, guys." Kelly asked, "Just what do you two want to do with us sexy vampire gals, who are suddenly both very hungry, and against who you no longer have any defense?"

"That s right." I also grinned. "Tell me Mr. McKay. How'd you like to party, with a gal who s got a nice big pair of fangs on her, for you and she to play with?"

A grinning Kelly asked, "How about you Brandon? Want to see what kind of fun we can have?"

He and Dylan glanced nervously at each other.

Brandon asked uneasily, "You girls are both kidding, aren't you?"

I asked, "What do you say Kelly? Are we kidding?"

"That depends. Does your guy Egbert have a friend. The next time you go to meet him, I might want to go along and make it a double date."

So repent you sinners!


End file.
